Can filling machine



March 15, 1938., w. E. LACEY 2,111,011

CAN FILLING MACHINE Filed Jan. 11, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 15, 1938. w. E. LACEY CAN FILLING MACHINE 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 11, 1937 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 15, 1938 UNITE STATES PATENT GFF'I CAN FILLING MACHINE nership Application January 11, 1937, Serial No. 119,902

15 Claims.

This invention relates to can filling machines, my principal object being toprovide a machine for the purpose by means of which measured quantities of produce of difierent kinds (such as 5. different fruits to form fruit cocktail) may be transferred from a hopper unit into cans without any manual attention being necessary other than keeping the hoppers filled. By means of this machine all the cans are filled to the same extent and all contain the same percentages of different ingredients. While the machine is particularly designed to thus supply different ingredients to the cans, it can be used, if desired, and without change to fill cans with one ingredient only.

Another object is to provide an automatically functioning device to tamp certain kinds of produce into the receptacles of the machine as said receptacles pass under the hopper. This feature is of particular use in connection with sliced 2o peaches and the like which have a tendency to jam against each other and not properly fill the receptacle.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views: Figure l is a side view of my improved machine partly in section.

of the machine showing the hopper unit and the upper row of receiving receptacles.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary transverse section on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Figure 4 is a similar view showing a modified form of hopper and metering device.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the machine comprises a suitable frame I on which are mount- 45 ed transversely spaced pairs of longitudinally spaced sprocket wheels 2 and 3. These wheels are of different sizes, the wheels 3 being considerably greater in size and disposed relative to the wheels 2 so that their lower edges lie in a common horizontal plane as shown; the upper edges of the wheels 3 being thus correspondingly higher than the upper edges of the wheels 2.

Taut chains 4 pass about the sprocket wheels and support boards or plates 5 which extend therebetween and which, when the chains are Figure 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal section straight, form a continuous unbroken surface. The boards are relatively short so that they can pass about the sprocket wheels without forming unyielding straight surfaces of any great length. The wheels 3 are driven at a. slow speed by any suitable means in such a direction that the upper runs of the chains move upwardly or in the direction of the wheels 3.

The boards along the upper run of the chains form the bottom of a produce hopper 6 which is divided by a transverse partition '1 into a pair of compartments 8 and 9, the compartment 8 being relatively small and being at the low or initial end of the hopper.

Secured in and projecting at right angles from the outer faces of alternate boards are cylindrical receptacles H], the bottoms of which are formed by plungers, and which have the same capacity as the cans into which the contents of the receptacles are to be discharged. Each plunger is. connected to a yoke l2 which slides in guideways !3 on the sides of the corresponding receptacle. The yoke is arranged so that the plunger may move from the bottom of the receptacle to a position flush with the outer surface of the boards. Movement of the various yokes and plungers is controlled by rollers M on the sides of the yokes riding in endless cam tracks l5. These tracks are arranged so that the plungers are at the bottom of the receptacles as the latter pass under the hopper and are at the outer ends of the said receptacles when the latter are inverted and pass along the lower horizontal run of the chains. Said run of the chains is above and par allel to a conventional can conveyor l6 moving at the same speed as the chains and receptacles and on which the cans ll are disposed; said cans being spaced the same as the receptacles and being disposed in registering relation therewith.

Interposed in the hopper compartment 8, closing the same just above the boards 5 is a rotary metering device l8 having a series of circumferentially extending pockets E9, the width and length of which at the periphery of said device being no greater than the diameter of a receptacle ID. This device is disposed so that when one pocket is open to and receiving from the hopper compartment, another one is discharging into a receptacle. The device is intermittently rotated an arcuate amount equal to the distance between adjacent pockets in timed relation to the movement of the receptacles by 2. spoke member 21] connected to the axial shaft 2! of the device outwardly of the hopper, said spokes being successively engaged by pins 22 projecting at intervals from one of the chains.

The size of the pockets is such that each only holds enough produce to partially fill a receptacle, the receptacles being subsequently filled to capacity by the produce contained in the main hopper compartment 9, which produce is freely open to the boards and the receptacles depending therefrom. Due to the upward slope of the bottom of the hopper (as formed by the boards 5) the produce tends to remain at the lower end of the hopper, so that the likelihood of any congestion of the produce at the upper end of the hopper is avoided. However in order to prevent possible excessive filling of the receptacles such as would tend to cause a congestion of produce as the receptacles pass under the upper end of the hopper, I mount a transversely extending brush 23 in the hopper adjacent its upper end. This is positioned to sweep across the top of the receptacles and dislodge any excess produce therefrom, so that said receptacles pass from under the hopper in a properly filled condition. To prevent the produce spillingout from the receptacles as the latter are moved about the sprocket wheels 3 to an inverted position, a guard plate extends from the hopper about and close to the boards 5 concentric with the wheels 3.

To lightly tamp down the produce dropping into the receptacles from the main hopper compartment 9 I provide a rotary device comprising a plurality of spokes 25 radiating from a vertically movable transverse shaft 26 and having enlarged rounded heads 21 adapted to enter the receptacles for a certain portion of their depth. The end portions of the shaft extend through vertical slots S in supporting brackets B mounted at the sides of the hopper, so that the shaft can move up and down acertain distance with out restraint. These heads are arcuately spaced the same as the spacing between the receptacles and the device is rotated by the engagement of said heads with successive receptacles. The weight of the device (which may be added to by any suitable means if necessary) is sufficient to exert the desiredtamping pressure on the produce in the receptacles, and if the produce is sufficiently dense without tamping the shift lifts of itself so that the heads do not enter the receptacles to unduly compress the produce.

The metering device and hopper compartment 3 as shown in Fig. 3 is intended to meter only one kind of produce. If two metered ingredients in small quantities are desired as is sometimes the case, the compartment 8 is divided by a longitudinal partition 28 into a pair of transverse compartments 8a, and the pockets of the metering device I80. are each divided into a pair of smaller transversely separated pockets Ilia as shown in Fig. 4.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the inventions, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A can filling machine comprising a produce hopper, a plate unit movable lengthwise of and forming the bottom of the hopper, receptacles supported by and open to the hopper to receive produce therefrom with the movement of the unit along the hopper, and means mounting the unit for inversion of the receptacles after they have passed beyond the hopper; there being means to support cans in position to directly receive produce from the inverted receptacles.

2. A structure as in claim 1 with a brush in the hopper adjacent the end thereof toward which the receptacles are moving to sweep over the tops of the receptacles passing thereunder.

3. A can filling machine comprising a hopper open on the bottom, a row of receptacles open to the bottom of the hopper under the same to receive produce therefrom, means to move the row of receptacles lengthwise, and means in the hopper to enter the receptacles and tamp the produce therein as the latter move along the hopper; said last named means comprising a turnable shaft extending transversely of the row of receptacles above the bottom of the hopper, elements radiating from the shaft and depending into the hopper, said elements at their outer end being adapted to enter the receptacles to a certain depth when the elements are alined with the receptacles, the arcuate spacing between adjacent elements at their outer ends being the same as that between adjacent receptacles, and means mounting the shaft for unrestrained upward movement from a predetermined position.

4. A can filling machine comprising a hopper open on the bottom, a row of receptacles open to the bottom of the hopper under the same to receive produce therefrom, means to move the row of receptacles lengthwise, and means in the hopper to successively enter the receptacles moving under the hopper and tamp produce into the receptacles as the latter thus move; said last named means comprising a turnable shaft extending transversely of the row of receptacles above the bottom of the hopper, spokes radiating from the shaft and depending into the hopper, and enlarged heads on the spokes to enter the receptacles to a certain depth when the spokes are alined with receptacles, the arcuate spacing between adjacent heads being the same as that between adjacent receptacles.

5. A can filling machine comprising a produce hopper, a plate unit movable lengthwise of and forming the bottom of the hop-per, receptacles supported by and depending from the plate unit and open to the hopper to receive produce therefrom, means mounting the unit for movement of the receptacles into a can filling position after said receptacles have passed beyond the hopper, a transverse shaft journaled above the board unit, spokes radiating from the shaft and depending into the hopper, and enlarged heads on the spokes adapted to enter the receptacles passing under the hopper to a certain depth when the spokes are in alinement with the receptacles; the arcuate spacing between adjacent heads being the same as that between adjacent receptacles.

6. A structure as in claim 5 with means mounting the shaft for unrestrained upward movement from a predetermined position.

'7. A can filling machine comprising a produce hopper, a plate unit movable lengthwise of and forming the bottom of the hopper, receptacles supported by and depending from the plate unit and open to the hopper to receive produce therefrom, means mounting the unit for movement of the receptacles into a can filling position after said receptacles have passed beyond the hopper, means dividing the. hopper into a pair of longitudinally separated compartments, and means in the foremost compartment to meter produce therefrom and deliver the same into successive receptacles passing thereunder in amounts less than the capacity of the receptacles.

8. A can filling machine comprising a produce hopper, a board unit movable lengthwise of and forming the bottom of the hopper, receptacles supported by and depending from the plate unit and open to the hopper to receive produce therefrom, means mounting the unit for movement of the receptacles into a can filling position after said receptacles have passed beyond the hopper, means dividing the hopper into a pair of longitudinally separated compartments, a rotary metering device providing a closure between the bottom of the foremost compartment and the plate unit and having arcuately spaced pockets one of which is exposed to said hopper compart ment while another pocket is in register with a receptacle, and means functioning with the movement of the plate unit for rotating the device an amount equal to the spacing between adjacent pockets with a movement of adjacent receptacles into position under the device.

9. A can filling machine comprising horizontally spaced pairs of driven wheels, flexible elements extending between and over the wheels, separate plates supported from and extending between the elements from end to end thereof, said plates along the straight runs of the elements forming a continuous unbroken surface, a hopper supported above the elements and the bottom of which is formed by the uppermost plates, receptacles mounted on and depending from individual plates and open to-the outer faces thereof, and a can conveyor under and parallel to the lower run of the elements.

10. A can filling machine comprising horizontally spaced pairs of driven wheels, flexible elements extending between and over the wheels, separate plates supported. from and extending between the elements from end to end thereof, said plates along the straight runs of the elements forming a continuous unbroken surface, a hopper supported above the elements and the bottom of which is formed by the uppermost plates, receptacles open to and depending from the outer faces of individual plates, plungers forming the bottoms of the receptacles, means applied to the plungers and functioning with the movement of the elements to maintain said plungers at the lower end of the receptacles as the latter pass under the hopper and moving them to adjacent the outer end of the receptacles as the latter become inverted upon passing about one pair of wheels, and a can conveyor under and parallel to the lower run of the flexible elements.

11. A structure as in claim 1, in which the plate unit is disposed with an upward slope to one end of the hopper in the direction of movement of the unit.

12. A structure as in claim 1, in which the plate unit is disposed with an upward slope to one end of the hopper in the direction of movement of the unit whereby the bulk of the produce in the hopper will tend to remain in the deeper portion of the hopper at the other end thereof, and a brush in the hopper adjacent said one end thereof to sweep over the tops of the receptacles just before they pass from under the hopper.

13. A can filling machine comprising a relatively long hopper open on the bottom, a row of receptacles open to the bottom of and extending lengthwise of the hopper under the same to receive produce therefrom, means to move the receptacles lengthwise of the hopper and means dividing the hopper into a pair of longitudinally spaced compartments, and means in the foremost compartment to meter produce therefrom and deliver the same into successive receptacles passing thereunder in amounts less than the capacity of the receptacles.

14. A structure as in claim 13, in which said metering means forms the bottom of said foremost compartment and comprises a rotary member having arcuately spaced pockets successively and alternately exposed to the hopper compartment to individual receptacles passing thereunder, and means functioning with the movement of the receptacles to rotate the metering member at a speed sufficient to dispose successive pockets thereof in register with successive receptacles passing thereunder.

1 5. A structure as in claim 10, in which the plunger actuating means comprises yokes connected to the plungers at the inner ends thereof and including guided arms extending on the outside of the receptacles, in overlapping relation, opposed rollers on the arms adjacent their outer ends, and fixed cam tracks in which the rollers ride.

WILBUR E. LACEY. 

